Botanical classification/cultivar designation: Alstroemeria hybrida cultivar Zapribel.
The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Alstroemeria plant, botanically known as Alstroemeria hybrida, commercially used as a pot-type flowering Alstroemeria, and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Zapribelxe2x80x99.
The new Alstroemeria is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Rijsenhout, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program was to develop new compact container Alstroemeria cultivars with desirable flower and plant qualities, attractive flower colors and excellent postproduction longevity.
The new Alstroemeria originated from a cross made by the Inventor in 1999 in Rijsenhout, The Netherlands, of a proprietary Alstroemeria hybrida selection identified as 88D1240-2, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with a proprietary Alstroemeria hybrida selection identified as 96F82-2, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Alstroemeria was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Rijsenhout, The Netherlands in May, 2000.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by root divisions taken in a controlled environment in Rijsenhout, The Netherlands, since May, 2000, has shown that the unique features of this new Alstroemeria are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual propagation.
Plants of the cultivar Zapribel have not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature and light intensity without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Zapribelxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Zapribelxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Compact, upright and outwardly spreading plant habit.
2. Orange and yellow bi-colored flowers with dark purple-colored spots and stripes.
3. Excellent postproduction longevity.
Plants of the new Alstroemeria can be compared to plants of the parent selections. Plants of the new Alstroemeria differ from plants of the female parent selection in flower coloration as plants of the female parent selection have purple-colored flowers. Plants of the new Alstroemeria differ from plants of the male parent selection in plant size as plants of the male parent selection are taller than plants of the new Alstroemeria.
Plants of the new Alstroemeria can be compared to plants of the cultivar Staprilene, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 11,683. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Rijsenhout, The Netherlands, plants of the new Alstroemeria differed from plants of the cultivar Staprilene in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Alstroemeria had shorter lateral branches than plants of the cultivar Staprilene.
2. Plants of the new Alstroemeria had smaller leaves than plants of the cultivar Staprilene.
3. Plants of the new Alstroemeria had shorter inflorescences than plants of the cultivar Staprilene.
4. Plants of the new Alstroemeria had orange and yellow bi-colored flowers whereas plants of the cultivar Staprilene had yellow and white bi-colored flowers.